Draconian Canada?
(HT: More Books and Things)
I have been pretty busy over these last few weeks, but I just have to quickly point to something that is happening in Canada. It looks like certain laws that were introduced in that country in the 60’s have started to affect Christian Ministries.
Canada’s government is fast becoming a draconian government!
LORRI MacGREGOR, co-founder along with her husband Keith of MacGregor Ministries a Christian counter-cult apologetics organization in British Columbia, Canada, will address the theme: “CANADA GAGS THE GOSPEL.” The Canadian Government will not allow any critiques of other religions. You can be any religion you want as long as you do nothing but promote your own religion. In Lorri & Keith’s case, in addition to presenting the Christian religion, they were responding to attacks on Christianity.
MacGregor Ministries carefully documented these attacks and responded to them from a biblical perspective, in a respectful and even kind manner. To their knowledge, none of the groups attacking Christianity through their websites or magazines got taken to task, only MacGregor Ministries! At the same time, they present sound, biblical, Christian doctrine, which promotes the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is, of course, their purpose. They were told they had to present all religions as equal, could not be “persuasive” regarding Christianity over others, and had to get rid of their website and magazine. Their presentation of the Christian gospel through their DVD’s and printed matter was ruled “uncharitable” and their careful critique of others in defense of Christian doctrine was called “hate”.
Here is a nine minute interview in regards to the latest on what is happening to this particular ministry. MacGregor Ministries has been told that its work is uncharitable and they have now lost their tax exempt status and to continue to operate they must register as a business. Obviously there is no such thing as freedom of speech for Christians because apparently no J.W. or Mormon outreach has had the same happen to them. When Lorri was spoken to she asked if she had a right to defend Christianity against other religions and cults who also claim to have the truth and attack her stand, she was told that the Watchtower society is in complete compliance with them, and they don’t have a problem with them at all. They do however; have a problem with Christians showing errors in the cults. They accuse MacGregor Minsitries of having hate literature.
Well, I have checked out their website, and I cannot find any hate literature. They address the Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons and even The Seventh Day Adventists, which I know a lot about because I was brought up in that particular Church. They also speak about William Branham, Benny Hinn, Kathryn Kuhlman, Tommy Tenney, Rodney Howard Brown, John Wimber and Rick Joyner, just to name a few. Most of these names are “Word of Faith” teachers and I have personally known about their teaching through my family members. Even I started to get sucked into it myself until someone said that I should measure their teachings against the Word of God and see what comes of it.
Some of these family members have had the sense to leave such Churches that follow the teachings of such lunatics but others unfortunately are still attending. I have even gone so far as to bring such matters to the Baptist Union, and I am yet to hear anything from them. Did I do that because I hate them? NO!!!! I did it because I believe in accountability and I believe in measuring things up against the Word of God.
These cult busters are doing nothing more than showing the very clear differences between other religious teachings against what the bible says. And now that is regarded as HATE!!! Are they not allowed to disagree with other religions?
This is political correctness gone mad! And it has done its job very well.
It is becoming very clear to me that the Church and State are slowly becoming amalgamated in one way or another. One such way is because of the government wanting the churches to be more transparent with their finances. While other Churches are willingly becoming corporations (Inc.) so that they can better serve the community through certain purpose driven/seeker friendly methodologies.
And now this… because of a so called “hate crime” they are being charged as uncharitable so therefore cannot be a charity and must be registered as a business. Despite the fact that these people do not get paid for what they are doing and have given their lives free of charge to evangelizing the lost, to actually reach these people.
The hooks are in, and it seems to me that the commission that God has given to the Church has been truly gagged in some parts of the world. Don’t think that it can’t happen in your neck of the woods. It will!
Mat 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Mary the Co-Redemptrix, the new Marian Dogma!
Apparently there is a call from some Cardinals, over 500 of them, to request a fifth Marian Dogma…
Five cardinals have sent a letter inviting prelates worldwide to join them in petitioning Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma they said would “proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary.”
The text, released last week, includes the petition that asks the Pope to proclaim Mary as “the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.” (read more here)
I wonder if Rick Warren who would be happy to form an alliance with Catholicism to establish his P.E.A.C.E plan and others who have signed the “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” who are intent on building ecumenical bridges would have a problem with Mary’s co-redemptrix status?
Roger Oakland says that…There are a number of evangelical Protestants who have signed an agreement with Roman Catholics with regard to unification with Rome (Evangelicals and Catholics Together). Further, Rick Warren has stated that he is willing to form an alliance with the Roman Catholic Church to establish his PEACE plan.
The new Marian Dogma is ecumenical in nature…
The petition states: “We believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family.”
Ecumenism
Pointing to ecumenical concerns, the petition continues: “It is of great importance [...] that people of other religious traditions receive the clarification on the highest level of authentic doctrinal certainty that we can provide, that the Catholic Church essentially distinguishes between the sole role of Jesus Christ, divine and human Redeemer of the world, and the unique though secondary and dependent human participation of the Mother of Christ in the great work of Redemption.”
They want to voice a clearer expression of Catholic Church Marian doctrine when they say…
The text adds that the move would be “the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome.”
In a press statement released along with the letter, the cardinal co-sponsors reiterated the same ecumenical concern and said the proclamation of a fifth Marian dogma would be a “service of clarification to other religious traditions and to proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary.“
They also want dialogue concerning Mary…
“This initiative also intends to start an in-depth worldwide dialogue on Mary’s role in salvation for our time. [...] Should this effort prove successful, a proclamation would constitute a historical event for the Church as only the fifth Marian dogma defined in its 2,000-year history.”
And of course is it all about “The New Evangelization” in regards to Mary’s role for humanity…
Cardinal Aponte Martínez, one of the cardinal co-patrons said: “I believe the time is now for the papal definition of the relationship of the Mother of Jesus to the each one of us, her earthly children, in her roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces and advocate.
“To solemnly proclaim Mary as the spiritual mother of all peoples is to fully and officially recognize her titles, and consequently to activate, to bring to new life the spiritual, intercessory functions they offer the Church for the new evangelization, and for humanity in our serious present world situation.”
Related
The Space “In-Between” Times
I was in conversation the other day with a man (an acquaintance of mine) who at one time was a stickler for defending sound doctrine. In fact, the conversation started because of my concerns over my dad’s spiritual journey.
He said to me, “You know…. once upon a time, not so long ago, I thought that doctrine was very important.” Then he paused to see my reaction, I had none as I wanted to hear what he had to say. Then he went on and said, “And now that I am older… I am not so sure it is at all important.”
I sat still and just listened to his reasoning; I kept silent that night and let him speak. He had made up his mind and that was that, that was made clear to me. He told me that the older he got, the more he questioned his very rigid views on doctrine. This was in response to the recent claims made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams (see here to read a good article on this or if you don’t know much about the latest claims that the Archbishop made during the Christmas season).
What were some of the doctrines that he found unimportant?
Well, to my surprise they weren’t the secondary issues that he was questioning. But the very things that use to be held as fundamental to understanding God through biblical Christianity. Even in his earlier walk with God he said to me that these doctrines were once held by him to be very important, if not pivotal to his Christianity. Things like the virgin birth and the resurrection.
He said that now what was most important to him was his relationship with God, no matter how he understood Him. He likened it to a child who loves their father, but doesn’t know every little thing about their own father but loves him nonetheless. Likewise, the father loves the child regardless of their child’s lack of truly knowing him with 100 percent certainty. The father understands that there are some things that the child will never know or understand about the father but the relationship is built on love rather than knowledge.
Is this silence? Is this a space that is waiting to be filled?
However imperfect our understanding of God happens to be, can we still have a relationship with Him even if we find that the virgin birth and the resurrection is currently up for debate and is being dissected by post-modern de-constructionlism?
What do we have left if we have de-constructed biblical absolutes? If we have nothing but feelings and have found ourselves without any real answers, what then, and how should we actually feel about this ‘Great Unknowing‘? Should we celebrate, encourage and should we even want to stay in it? How do we begin to build a relationship within the ‘Great Unknowing‘? What foundation are we left with or do we have one at all? If we have no real foundation then what would that mean for society, as it would have no real direction and there would be a lull, a big space, a void if you like that has to be filled. What will fill this space? A world without a foundation is one that can be shaped in any way it chooses.
What comes next? The Ecclesiastical Question…
Ecc 4:6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
This is a world wide phenomena, post-modernism is a has-been, it is yesterdays news and very much past its used by date. And like a house built with a deck of cards it has fallen and it lays in wait, in expectation for something and it knows not what. It has left humanity with no answered questions and has left in its wake a big gaping chasm that is very much “In Between” times — the Post-modern and the next. That place is now empty and void and is waiting to be filled. In this big space of “In-Between” times, we have nothing, we have some sort of … “lull-and-void” that is waiting to be filled with something.
This is pivotal because people as a general rule want answers to the deeper questions of life. Otherwise why would they even bother asking the questions in the first place? If you don’t want the answers, don’t ask the questions. They cannot live their life without answers forever. They can try but they will never get past the questions and they become stuck within them, in a never ending circle, a chasing of the wind.
Ecc 1:14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Ecc 1:17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
As bible believing Christians we should be acutely aware of this time, and we should be ready to give answers. I give this advice to myself first and to be honest with you, I am challenged by it.
I think Peter had it right when he said that we should always be ready with an answer. This is most needed during this time, more than ever before!
1Pe 3:15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Regarding doctrine and whether or not it is important for us today with our de-constructed laying in wait world. Obviously St. Paul found the topic of doctrine important. He tells us that there is indeed a sound doctrine and there is also a doctrine of demons. Why would he say this if this was not so?
Tit 1:9 clinging to the faithful Word according to the teaching, that he may be able both to encourage by sound doctrine and to convict the ones contradicting.
1Ti 4:1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,
What can fill this empty space of “In-Between” times?
Christ Jesus (The biblical One) can!
If not Him, then what is the alternative? I shudder to think! The alternative is what scares me. This empty space of “In-Between” times is ready to be injected with Truth, and if Truth is not heard or understood, then lies will be.
PS: I have just come across something interesting about the emerging Church in an article called…
The Great Divide, the Lull-and-Void, the Great Unknown… something is about to happen. Let’s be armed and ready with the full armor of God!
Eph 6:11-18 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
My dad is going mythical!!
OK, this post is about my dad and his spiritual journey. Some of you know the story about my father and already have him in your prayers. I am most grateful for this.
I went over yesterday and saw a book that was by his reading chair called “The Pagan Christ”… this is the blurb…
Harpur, a former Anglican priest and professor of Greek and New Testament at the University of Toronto, delves into the foundations of the Christian faith, questioning the historicity of the Bible, reinterpreting the familiar stories and restoring what he considers the inner meaning of scriptural texts. “Taken literally, they present a world of abnormal events totally unrelated to people’s authentic living today.” He documents the many traditions that predate Christianity and parallel the familiar Bible story. He sees Christianity, and the Bible itself, as a rehash of these traditions, merely imitative rather than a record of actual, historical events. He goes so far as to question the existence of the historical Jesus. Harpur believes that the early church establishment, through deliberate acts of suppression and the destruction of books that might challenge the orthodox view (most famously in the Alexandrian Library), shaped a rigid institution unable to cope with an evolving world. He insists that a major change must take place in order for Christianity to survive. His solution is termed “Cosmic Christianity”—a radical reinterpretation not just of the Bible but of the nature of the Christian faith and its links to the world’s great spiritual traditions. Harpur’s arguments, themselves a rehash of earlier scholarship, are unlikely to convince readers who are not already inclined to his views. @Amazon.com
Obviously, I would still like you all to keep him in your prayers…
Shepherds in the night
Just finished reading a really good post over at Herescope.
Funny how it was only last night that I was thinking about the bad shepherds in Ezekiel…
Eze 34:5-10 And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd. And they became food to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep strayed through all the mountains and on every high hill. And My sheep were scattered on all the face of the earth, and none searched, and none sought for them. For this reason, shepherds, hear the Word of Jehovah: As I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, surely because My sheep became a prey, and My sheep became food for all the beasts of the field, from not having a shepherd, and because My shepherds did not search for My sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed the flock, so, O shepherds, hear the Word of Jehovah: So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My sheep from their hand and cause them to cease from pasturing the sheep. And the shepherds shall no longer feed themselves, for I will deliver My sheep from their mouth, and they will not be food to devour.
Then I happened upon the post by Herescope which speaks about the shepherds during the night watch…
Today, we live in a time when there are many slumbering shepherds who are not abiding in the fields faithfully, nor are they keeping watch over their flock by night. Particularly in these dark days of great growing spiritual apostasy, so many shepherds have become complacent, reticent, apathetic and drowsy.
Night time in scripture always means tribulation. This post has a good midrashic understanding of symbolism and imagery. There is a heavy use of night time imagery, fire imagery, and leaven imagery in this excellent article. A must read!
After reading this post I read Hosea chapters 4 and 7. Those chapters are of uptmost importance for the Church today. These particular chapters speak about the sin in the land of Israel; this is being recapitulated in the church. Why? Because it is not so different today as she compromises the Word of Truth as she engages with our pluralistic culture/society and pretty much beds it. She has become the adulterer, and there are temple prostitutes within her walls. Chris Elrod has the right balance when it comes to addressing today’s culture.
The Church has been called out of any given culture throughout her history…
Church - ekklēsia
ek-klay-see’-ah
From a compound of G1537 and a derivative of G2564; a calling out, that is, (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): - assembly, church.
In Hosea 7 the leaven is left unchecked and then inside the oven over night the cake becomes a fire that destroys, the baker did not keep watch during the nigh. There is a sense of a bad mix in the bread, a little leaven [sin] leavens the whole lump…
Hos 7:4-8 They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker; he ceases from stirring, from kneading the dough until it is leavened. In the day of our king, the rulers have sickened themselves with the heat of wine. He stretches out his hand with scorners. For they have brought their heart near like an oven, while they lie in wait. Their baker sleeps all night; in the morning it burns like a flaming fire. They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges. All their kings have fallen; not one among them calls to Me. Ephraim mixed himself among the peoples. Ephraim is a cake not turned.
For the Author
Quick post. Just blogrolled another blog called “For the Author“.
BONNIE is the blog owner and says that she is a Child of God in Christ~ Student of the Word~ Wife and Mother~ Homemaker~ Librarian~ School Bus Driver. Her blog has some interesting links, and is well set out. She addresses many of the issues that concern the Church during these last days. One certainly worth having a look at.
Neo-traditionalists turn to traditions!
Today I went on over to the ‘Emergent Village Weblog’ and found something that pointed me to the following article called ‘A Return to Tradition A new interest in old ways takes root in Catholicism and many other faiths‘ [page3] By Jay Tolson Posted December 13, 2007…
Something of a celebrity ex-pastor himself, Brian McLaren, the popular author and a founder of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, Md., recently left the pastorate to talk and write about the emergent movement and other developments in Christianity. While at Cedar Ridge, which catered specifically to previously “unchurched” seekers, McLaren instituted a Eucharistic liturgy and contemplative prayer retreats. And he appreciates the role of tradition in the new self-organizing communities that are sprouting up around the country. “Protestantism has been in a centrifugal pattern for so long, with each group spinning away from others,” McLaren says. “But now there is some kind of pull back to the center.”
Hmmmm… a community of “Atonement – Eucharistic Praxis” perhaps?
Like McLaren, Tony Jones, author of The New Christians: Dispatches From the Emergent Frontier and national coordinator of Emergent Village, talks about the postmodern aspects of the new traditionalism. People of the postmodern mindset—particularly 20- and 30-somethings—question the hyperindividualism of modern culture. They search for new forms of community but tend to be wary of authority figures and particularly of leaders, Jones says, who take divisive liberal or conservative social-political positions—one reason why the emergent groups tend to be antipastoral. “The problem is not the issues,” says Jones, who belongs to an emergent church, Solomon’s Porch, in Minneapolis. “The problem is how we talk about issues. We are going to live in reconciliation with each other, and traditional practices are what restore us and hold us together.”
The young neotraditionalists also have an almost intuitive attraction to liturgy, ritual, and symbol as forms of knowledge that complement the dominant rational, scientific one. “There is a certain kind of postmodern sensibility that loses confidence in the rational explanation of everything,” McLaren says. For him, Jones, and others, “doing church” in traditional and innovative ways is a form of theological reflection that leaves behind the fundamendalists’ need to make all religious propositions into pseudoscientific statements, to turn Genesis, for example, into a geology textbook.
Nice.
I give you two guesses as to where these traditional practices are going to lead people. [Hint: All roads lead to Rome] Well, let’s just say I agree with Roger Oakland on this one.
So yeah, I am pretty much left behind with all the other so called ignorant fundies who’re considered to be pseudo-scientists because they hold to the historical grammatical interpretation of Genesis. Hey, check it out. I even have these fundies blogrolled, go figure!!!
What do you smell like?
2Co 2:14-17 But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him. To God we are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. To some people we are a deadly fragrance, while to others we are a living fragrance. Who is qualified for this? At least we are not commercializing (corrupt) God’s word like so many others. Instead, in Christ we speak with sincerity, like people who are sent from God and are accountable to God.
Corrupt the word of God - Margin, “deal deceitfully with.” The word used here (καπηλεύοντες kapēleuontes) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and does not occur in the Septuagint. The word is derived from κάπηλος kapēlos, which signifies properly a huckster, or a retailer of wine, a petty chapman; a man who buys up articles for the purpose of selling them again. It also means sometimes a vintner, or an innkeeper. The proper idea is that of a small dealer and especially in wine. Such persons were notorious, as they are now, for diluting their wines with water (compare the Septuagint in Isa_1:22); and for compounding wines of other substances than the juice of the grape for purposes of gain. Wine, of all substances in trade, perhaps, affords the greatest facilities for such dishonest tricks; and, accordingly, the dealers in that article have generally been most distinguished for fraudulent practices and corrupt and diluted mixtures. Hence, the word comes to denote to adulterate; to corrupt, etc. It is here applied to those who adulterated or corrupted the pure word of God in any way, and for any purpose. It probably has particular reference to those who did it either by Judaizing opinions, or by the mixtures of a false and deceitful philosophy. The latter mode would be likely to prevail among the subtle and philosophizing Greeks. It is in such ways that the gospel has been usually corrupted:
(1) It is done by attempting to attach a philosophical explanation to the facts of revelation, and making the theory as important as the fact.
(2) by attempting to explain away the offensive points of revelation by the aid of philosophy.
(3) by attempting to make the facts of Scripture accord with the prevalent notions of philosophy, and by applying a mode of interpretation to the Bible which would fritter away its meaning, and make it mean anything or nothing at pleasure. In these, and in various other ways, people have corrupted the Word of God; and of all the evils which Christianity has ever sustained in this world, the worst have been those which it has received from philosophy, and from those teachers who have corrupted the Word of God. (Barnes)
… Corrupt the word of God; by “the word of God”, may be meant the Scriptures in general, which are from God, contain his will, and which he uses for the good of men, and his own glory, and may be corrupted by false glosses, and human mixtures, and by adding to them, or taking from them; or the Gospel in particular, which is the word of truth, of faith, righteousness, reconciliation, and salvation, and which was corrupted by these false teachers, by making merchandise of it; they huckstered the word of God, made gain of it, sought merely their own worldly interest and advantage in it, and so mixed it with their own vain philosophy, to please the carnal ears and hearts of men; they blended law and Gospel, grace and works, in the business of salvation; they did, as peddling merchants do, mix good and bad commodities together, and then vend them for sound ware; or as vintners, who mix their wine with water, and sell it for neat wine. (John Gill)
I just thought the above was an interesting read, so I thought I would share it!
Is Scripture important?
Found an interesting post from ‘Sola Dei Gloria’ called ‘Christians “too” Committed to the Bible‘. How can a Christian be too committed to the Bible? Just doesn’t make sense to me.
“In the actual practices of the Evangelical community in North America, there is an over-commitment to Scripture in a way that is false, irrational, and harmful to the cause of Christ,”
But on the other end of the scale we have ‘Pastors signing an online pledge to use the God’s Word as a primary source for sermons‘.
A website that provides access to sermons and illustrations has launched a campaign encouraging pastors to pledge that they will develop their own material through the reading and study of scripture.
Sad really, that such a pledge is even necessary!
Chris Elrod - You Rock!
I am so happy that I could die….
I just wanted to say to Chris (Hat tip - Mike put me onto Chris’ blog) that I am going to continue praying for you and I just want other people who read my blog to check out your latest post called ‘No Friend of Emergent‘. May God be with you as you continue to take a stand in the Truth of His Word.
There will be those that will criticize the steps we have taken. So be it. There will be those that will choose not to fellowship with us. We can accept that. There will also be those that will say that this blog post was not needed because Emergent has no official theological stance. That’s a crock! Those that speak for you…define you…and what you believe. Others will say that we’re being legalistic. It’s not legalistic to believe that “theology” contradictory to the Word of God is wrong. Finally, there will be those that say that we’re judging. No…it’s called discernment…and it’s Biblical. It’s what we’re suppose to do as the shepherds of the flock that God has entrusted us with.
I also pray that with this stand that you have taken that others who are still within the emergent fold, will be given the courage to examine it as you have done. I pray that they test this movement against scripture and find it to be left wanting. This all weighs heavily on my heart and I can only imagine how God’s heart is breaking over his bride. And I thank God for people like you and Mike, who are very approachable but very conservative theologically.
Mike has been a real blessing to me and he is another person who ROCKS!!!
Seriously Chris, thank you!
May God bless you as you continue to keep in His Word!!!
(The Great Divide continues! Pray for His Church!)
